


Stressed Out

by IdiotStarfish



Category: Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: F/M, Im tired so if this sucks blame it on sleel deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 11:09:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20308492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdiotStarfish/pseuds/IdiotStarfish
Summary: Brendan's a tired motherfucker





	Stressed Out

Brendan looked down at the ferry tickets in his hand, given to him by his father. He forced out a small "Thanks" and went back upstairs to his room, telling his parents the excuse that he just had to get ready before he left for Slateport. 

Sitting on the stomach of his Snorlax doll was his Mudkip, Sludge, looking at him with a confused expression on his face. He sat down on the floor next to the doll, sighing and setting the tickets on the ground next to him. "Tickets to the Battle Resort," he informed his Pokemon, his voice sounding tired. "Not sure what it is, but Dad said it'd make me stronger and prepare me for any challengers." Sludge looked at him with what he could only guess was a look of disapprovement.

"I know, I know...after everything that's happened these past few weeks, I probably shouldn't jump into things like this without getting enough rest first. But I'm the champion." His voice cracked a bit. "I tamed Groudon, summoned Rayquaza, went to space, and captured Deoxys, all in maybe...a month?" Brendan sighed, leaning his head against the doll. "People expect things of me...can't disappoint them, y'know?"

A few moments of silence passed before he forced himself to get to his feet. He walked over to his desk and picked up the two Pokeballs next to his adventure rules book — his Beautifly and Azumarill. His eyes gravitated to the other side of his desk, where three other Pokeballs sat. Inside the Master Ball was Groudon, the super ancient Pokemon that Team Magma decided it'd be a smart idea to revive. The Timer Ball held Rayquaza, that one dragon thing that ate his meteorite. And in the Ultra Ball was Deoxys, who...quite honestly, was nightmare fuel to him.

He set down the two he was still holding to put the three of them in his bag. It felt wrong, having them in his party instead of his Kecleon, Tropius, and Latios — the three that had been his friends and not anything to fear this entire time. He'd just put the legendaries into his PC. They probably wouldn't allow them in the Battle Resort anyway, right? 

He walked back to his Mudkip and held out his arm. Sludge leapt onto his and climbed onto his shoulder. "Come on, buddy." He said quietly, both to himself and his Pokemon. "We can handle this."

—

After he'd gotten to the nearest Pokemon Center, in Oldale Town, he got his three friends back. Holding their Pokeballs again already made him feel a bit better. He flew his Latios — who he'd named Chocolate, due to a lack of thoughts when he was thinking of his name — to Mauville, deciding to walk to the ferry. Anything to make it take longer to get there. 

He avoided the cycling road, walking the whole way. Sludge was clearly picking up on it, sending him glances that he chose to ignore. Once he got into Slateport, he stopped in his tracks. He really, really didn't want to keep moving, but...he couldn't let these tickets go to waste, right? And he was sure his Dad expected him to head there, and he couldn't just sit around until someone challenged him for the place of champion. He definitely couldn't stop training and getting stronger, so he didn't lose to his first challenger — people _definitely_ expected him to be stronger than that. He forced himself to keep walking. 

Once he got closer to the ferry, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He turned to see May running towards him, her Treecko on her shoulder and her Absol running beside her. It looked like she'd just left the Contest Hall when she saw him. 

Once she caught up to him, she waited to talk so she could catch her breath. "Wow! You never know how big this city is until you have to run across it, huh?" She said, panting. After a moment, she started speaking normally. "So, are you headed to the Battle Resort?" 

He nodded. "Y-Yeah. How'd you know? Did my dad give you tickets too?" He asked, suddenly feeling hopeful.  
"Nope! Wally told me!"  
"O-Oh." The hope vanished as quickly as it appeared. "So, what's up?" 

"Oh, you know. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."   
Well, that was weird. "What — What did you mean?" 

May shrugged. "Well, just a few days ago you were at the Sky Pillar and flying into a Meteorite. I was worried you were going to throw yourself into this without letting yourself recover from all that."

He really hadn't, but he wasn't about to let her know that. She was his best friend, and he loved her, but he couldn't stop now. He had to keep training. He had to get stronger, right? 

He flashed her a forced smile. "Of course I did! I'm ready for this, all recovered from everything that's happened. Promise!" 

She didn't look convinced. Even her Pokemon seemed to see through his act. Her Absol looked like it was actually rolling its eyes. "Are you sure about that, Brendan?"

"'Course! Why wouldn't that be true?" He asked nervously. 

"Well, first of all, Sludge looks really worried and it's completely giving you away." He blinked in surprise. She held out her arm and Sludge jumped from his shoulder to May's arm, climbing into the shoulder her Treecko wasn't on. Now that he could see the Mudkip clearly...yeah. He did look worried. 

"Also, it's just unrealistic. You showed Deoxys to my dad and I just yesterday and looked like you wanted to stay as far away from it as you could. It totally freaked you out. I doubt that changed in one night."

Yeah, okay, fair point. He sighed, smiling at her with a tired look in his eyes. "Can't hide anything from you, huh?"

"Not really." She smiled sympathetically. "I am your best friend, after all." 

"You're right. I...I don't want to go there right now...I just want to do something normal, like I did before I became champion, before everything with Groudon..." 

"No one expects you to be perfect, Brendan." She said softly. "We're still kids. People aren't going to lose all hope in you just because you decide to make yourself feel normal."   
"I don't want to disappoint anyone...and I can't just do nothing anymore...it doesn't feel right." May nodded before an idea seemed to pop into her head. 

"Hey, my dad — Professor Birch, I mean — wants me to do some fieldwork in the routes between Dewford and Slateport. Not even the ones with the highest expectations of you could blame you if you studied Pokemon for a little while before you went to the Resort, right?"   
"I...I guess, yeah."   
"Then, wanna help me out? You'd be a big help, and it'd be nice to spend some time with you again!" 

He looked at her wide smile and Sludge's hopeful expression. Fieldwork sounded wonderful, and she wasn't wrong — he'd be exceeding expectations if he helped gather data on Pokemon for the Professor. And he really did miss spending time with her...they didn't get to do that as much lately.

"Yeah," he said, holding his arm out for Sludge. The Pokemon happily got back onto his shoulder. "That...would be awesome, May."   
"Great!" She smiled, grabbed his hand and started leading him to Route 109. "Let's go!"


End file.
